SOILS FERTILIZERS. 321 



ble, while in many cases the potash was in very nnavailable form and the soils 

 responded to potash fertilizing. 



Soils, F. T. Shiitt {Vanada Erpt. Farms Rpts. 190V, pp. iJi-i -5.9). —This 

 includes the results of further chemical studies of soils collected during an 

 agricultural tour of the Upper Columbia and eastern Kootenai districts of 

 British Columbia (E. S. R., 19, p. 920) ; the results of examinations of samples 

 of alkali soils from British Columbia and Ontario : further results of experi- 

 ments on the nitrogen enrichment of soils through the growth of legumes (E. S. 

 R., IS, p. 120) : and results of observations on the value of soil inoculation for 

 alfalfa. 



Analyses of 12 samples of British Columbia soils are reported and discussed. 

 Five of the samples were from typical sagebrush country. The examination of 

 these soils showed : 



"(1) That they are for the most part light chocolate, or brownish, sandy loams 

 of a loose, almost ash-lilve character. The sand grains ai'e chiefly very fine and 

 the projKjrtion of clay is <iuite small. They are soils that are extremely easy 

 to work, but careful management is necessary when irrigating to prevent the 

 cutting of deep channels and the washing away of the surface soil. There is 

 no strong color line of demarcation between the surface and the subsoil, the 

 former merging almost imperceptibly into the latter. As might be expected, 

 however, there is more humus, and consequently the soil is somewhat darker, 

 nearer the surface. 



"(2) While the results of analysis do not show that uniformity in composi- 

 tion that characterizes many tracts of northwestern prairie soil, the evidences 

 from the chemical standpoint are strongly indicative of a common origin. 



" Their nitrogen content is exceedingly good and much higher than might be 

 conjectured from their physical appearance. They are characterized by a large 

 percentage of lime, a further feature betokening fertility. The amounts of 

 potash present are also very satisfactory, 



" The proportion of the mineral plant food constituents in available form is 

 worthy of special attention. Although the soils are not rich in total phosphoric 

 acid, the amount present that is more or less immediately assimilable is in all 

 cases, save one, far above the average. As already noted, the potash content 

 of the soils is excellent and the data denote a very large proportion of this store 

 to be immediately available. The figures for the available lime also are very 

 good, indicating undoubtedly a high degree of productiveness." 



More or less complete examinations of several samples of alkali soils are 

 reported, with descriptions of the character of the alkali present. 



Continuing observations on the experiments begun in 1905, it was found 

 that under continuous cropping with clover there was a decided increase in 

 nitrogen in a light sandy soil each year during 6 successive years. 



The application of .300 lbs, per acre of soil from an alfalfa lield to land on 

 which alfalfa was being grown for the first time not only greatly increased the 

 yield over that obtained from inoculated soil, but resulted in a marked increase 

 in the protein content of the alfalfa obtained. 



The soil conditions of the Mkatta steppe, P. Yageler {Tropenpftanzer, IS 

 (1909), No. 11, pp. 505-.511). — The results of a reconnoissance of this steppe 

 from the mouth of the Myombo to Tame, East Africa, are briefly summarized, 

 showing the general character of the soil, the weather conditions, and crop 

 possibilities (cotton, tobacco). Attention is called to the fact that the rainfall 

 is small and irregular and that irrigation is necessary for most crops. 



Studies of the physical properties of the soils of Upper Egypt, R. Roche 

 [Bui. Inst. Egyptien, 5. ser., 2 {1908), No. 1, pp. 55-67). — The physical prop- 



